Just The Beginning
by Dancin'Andy
Summary: Takes place post timeskip. After rescuing Gaara the Konoha shinobi decide to stay the night in Suna. Naruto can't sleep and he meets up with Gaara. Naruto wants Gaara to talk and trust him. Fluffy One-shot. Please review, I appreciate it. NaruGaa GaaNaru.


AN: This was inspired by two things: A NaruGaa fanfiction called "Parallels" and a NaruGaa doujinshi called "Boku no Hikari." I don't know if the written stories are here, but I loved them. Actually, "Parallels" was what first introduced me to the NaruGaa.

…

Naruto sat up in bed, dazed and aggravated with the itchy and dry chill of the Sunagakure night air. As much as he enjoyed having new surroundings, he just couldn't understand how anyone could live there.

He swung his legs over to the side of the bed and stood up, knowing that sleep would successfully evade him for the remainder of the night. He threw on the clothes that he had worn earlier that day and had tossed carelessly on the floor while getting ready for bed. With that, he left his hotel room, leaving his headband behind. After rescuing Gaara and bringing him home that evening, he, Sakura, Kakashi, Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Gai decided to stay in the hotel for the night to rest up for the long journey back to Konohagakure that began the next morning. Originally, Kakashi had planned on getting a head start that evening, but Gaara and his siblings insisted that they stay the night since the sun had already set.

Naruto assumed that Gaara was still a little embarrassed that they had to go through all that trouble for him, although, despite what Gaara had believed about the Konoha recruits, they didn't mind helping him at all. In fact, Naruto was more than glad to. After all, it was an excuse to see him again. But the restful sleep that Gaara had insisted on wasn't what Naruto was going to be getting anytime soon.

Naruto crept down the dark and deserted hallway outside of his hotel room, taking special care not to wake the others and cause a scene. He snuck out of the hotel and started mindlessly roaming the streets of Suna, taking in the sights. He gazed up at one of the taller buildings and discovered that in the starless night, he couldn't even spot the top of it.

Naruto cringed as the desert winds tore at his face and other uncovered skin, but his legs remained in motion, leading him further down the deserted street. He paused, noticing that there was a narrow path branching out away from the main street, and it looked like it was rarely walked upon. It looked rather dangerous as well. But he took it anyway, his curiosity getting the best of him and leading him up the steeply inclined and dangerously narrow path. He cringed again and struggled to maintain his balance as the strong winds threatened to throw him off of the path. His breath caught in his throat as he came way too close to falling down the cliff edge. He gazed out towards the center of the village and discovered how high up he was getting; the building that he couldn't see the top of before was now level with him. He climbed higher still, wondering if he should just turn back to be safe. The moment he started thinking that, a wave of exhaustion washed over him; his body was craving sleep and looking for any excuse to turn around. But he kept going, really curious to see what was up there after going through all the trouble of walking.

To his relief, the path slowly became wider, and the incline disappeared. He soon found himself out of breath, and standing on a very high cliff. Naruto froze. A fantastic view of miles and miles of the empty desert beneath the cloudy black starless sky could be seen. A gigantic moon loomed overhead, the only light in the still darkness of the night. But neither the view nor the moon was what brought Naruto to a sudden halt.

There, dangerously close to the very edge of the cliff, was a figure, standing completely motionless, appearing to be gazing out into the dark horizon. In the dim moonlight, Naruto couldn't quite make out who it was. He went to call out "Hello," but he suddenly tensed up and clamped his hand over his mouth to stop himself, realizing that he was a foreigner, and that it was probably someone from Suna that he didn't even know yet. Back in Konoha, he had always taken the fact that he knew and loved almost everyone there for granted. He realized that running into a stranger from another village in the middle of the dark night might not be the best thing, and he could find himself in a tight situation very quickly if the person wasn't cheery like Naruto had a bad habit of assuming people to be. He couldn't be so totally careless like he always was back in Konoha. He took a step back and nearly jumped out of his skin when his footstep made a louder thud than he had planned.

The figure spun around at the sound, and Naruto prepared to either run or fight; he wasn't quite sure which yet. He put his arms up in front of him like he was about to spar. But when the figure took a step towards him and the moonlight reflected against his ghostly pale skin, Naruto was able to recognize whom it was. Even with half of his face being shadowed by his bangs, the unmistakable ruby red hair and green-blue eyes were enough.

Naruto put his arms back down by his sides and let out the breath he'd been holding, relaxing a little. "Gaara!" He called out, the relief and warmth apparent in his voice. He took a few steps closer, smiling.

"Naruto?" Gaara questioned, but his voice remained clear and calm, sounding more like a statement.

"What're you doing here?" Naruto asked while walking closer to him, stopping just over an arms-length away from him.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Gaara shot back, though there was no hint of aggravation in either his voice or his face; just a distant, apathetic expression. He had been deep in thought before Naruto interrupted him.

"Oh… Umm… Well, I was just wandering around and-" he stopped, trying to get to the point, "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Gaara murmured, but the dark humor he had intended went right over Naruto's head. He turned back around, his toes on the very edge of the cliff. Naruto followed him, standing at his left side, slightly angled towards him. He felt his heart beat faster when he peeked over the edge of the cliff. He couldn't even see the ground, just a black abyss. He stared hard at Gaara, who not surprisingly wasn't even fazed by the danger.

"It's nicer up here," Naruto decided aloud, smiling through his obvious fear. Even though the height he was at was a bit overwhelming and the wind refused to let up, the breathtaking view and the fact that Gaara was there with him more than made up for it. He paused for a moment, waiting and hoping for a response from Gaara, but none came. Not even a little glance. He laughed nervously, and the awkward silence was crossing the bridge from uncomfortable to painful.

As much as Naruto was uncomfortable about the awkwardness, noticing that Gaara looked uncomfortable too made him feel worse. He really wanted his friend feel more comfortable and open around him. The two of them had so much in common, and Naruto had so much he wanted to tell him. Things about Sasuke, about his past and his future, and then there was so much he wanted to ask him; there was so much more he wanted to know about him. He wanted to create a stronger bond with him, and it suddenly crossed his mind that they could maybe even become "more than friends." He hadn't thought about that much until that moment. He was a little nervous about it, considering what happened with the last really close bond he made, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. Plus, he personally liked listening to Gaara's voice; it was so calm and reserved, so much unlike his own, being scratchy and loud; it almost soothed him in a way; they were so alike, yet so different.

"I've missed you…" Naruto murmured, smiling sheepishly, "It's been such a long time…" He put a hand on Gaara's shoulder, making him flinch and pull away slightly. He stared up at Naruto, looking on edge, and to Naruto's surprise, almost… afraid. Naruto bit his lip and sat down, his eyes apologetic and suggesting that Gaara should join him, which he did. They sat side by side, within a foot of each other, in total silence. Naruto kept glancing over at Gaara, looking for something to say, something to do. Gaara stared out at the dark horizon again, but he had a pained expression in his eyes, like something was really bothering him. Naruto felt a strong urge to make physical contact, maybe take his hand, ask him what was wrong, and tell him everything was going to be okay. But he knew Gaara wouldn't feel comfortable with anything like that, at least not yet. But it still hurt Naruto to know how big of an unspoken barrier there was between them.

"So… Do you come up here a lot?" Naruto asked softly, and as his voice cracked, he realized how upset this was making him. He knew Gaara had a lot to say, but it was just a matter of getting him to open up a little, trust him, and let down his guard. Gaara merely grunted softly in agreement, avoiding eye contact with the blonde. From what Naruto could see of Gaara's face, he looked like he was fighting something.

Naruto's chest suddenly felt heavy, "Gaara… Gaara, what's wrong?" he asked sincerely, breaking the unspoken boundaries Gaara had set between them and placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, making him flinch again and wriggle out of Naruto's grip. Naruto didn't give up this time, though, and he scooted closer to him. Gaara turned to face him, and Naruto grabbed Gaara's hands, taking one in each of his own, and Gaara pulled away and abruptly pushed Naruto back.

"Don't," Gaara murmured.

"Gaara… I… I don't understand-" Naruto said, reaching out for him again.

"No… Stop!" Gaara protested, his hands pushing against Naruto's shoulders, pushing him back and maintaining the distance between them.

"Gaara… Are you all right?"

There was a long pause, "I'm fine," Gaara said, turning away slightly.

Naruto paused, staring at him for a moment, "That wasn't very convincing," He muttered, giving him a doubtful yet sympathetic look. Gaara's eyes met his, but when they did, they immediately fell to his knees, unable to meet his gaze for long.

"Why don't you trust me?" Naruto questioned softly. He went through the times he had spent with Gaara in his head, trying to figure out what he had done to upset him.

Gaara stayed completely silent, unable to find a response.

"Gaara…" Naruto paused, not quite knowing what to say to convince Gaara to trust him. An image of Sasuke flashed in his mind. He couldn't reach Sasuke…. And he almost lost Gaara… He wasn't about to give up on Gaara; he swore to himself that he never would.

Gaara just stared up at him expectantly as Naruto started talking again, "I know you've been through a lot… We both have… And I want to help you… I really do," as he said this, he tried his best to smile, "If there's anything you want to talk about… I'll listen… I swear… I'll…" he paused, thinking of something to say. Gaara looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated.

"This is going to sound so corny…" Naruto murmured to himself, but just loud enough for Gaara to hear, "There's… A connection between us, Gaara… I want to create a strong bond with you… I… Please, Gaara… You've got to believe in me… You've got to trust me," Naruto pleaded, grabbing Gaara's wrists, and then he slid his hands up Gaara's arms and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him even closer to him.

Gaara tensed. He didn't fight back this time, but he put his head back down, "I can't," he muttered. He refused to make eye contact with the blonde.

"Why not?" Naruto asked, and his voice was soft and warm, urging Gaara to just let go of everything for once. He lifted Gaara's face with his right hand, and looked him right in the eyes, smiling, fighting back the urgency he was feeling, "I swear… You can trust me, Gaara…"

Gaara turned his head away, "I can't… The last time I…" he stopped, reliving the memory. It was still so vivid to him. "I just… Don't want that to happen again… It hurt me so much… It still does…"

"This is different, Gaara… I… I'm not like that… I promise… And you know me… I never go back on my word," he grinned as he said that, and Gaara nodded the slightest bit, "I care so much about you. I can't lose you… You know I would never try to hurt you like that…" he paused, and saw that Gaara eyes were beginning to lighten.

"It'll be okay. I promise," Naruto said, wearing a light smile. He touched Gaara's face and paused for the reaction, which was a slight flinch, but neither pulled away. Naruto tucked a tuft of his crimson hair behind his ear. He pulled him closer still, never for a moment taking his eyes off of him.

"Naruto…" Gaara murmured, barely able to form a real word while being so close to someone, especially Naruto, whom he admired so much.

"I promise I won't let you down… I _promise_," he repeated for emphasis. He leaned his head closer to him, and Gaara looked up back at him with a tentative expression on his face. Naruto suddenly let go of Gaara's left shoulder and pulled Gaara's face towards his own.

The kiss was short, and when Naruto pulled away, he was a little scared to look at Gaara for fear that he'd be upset and hurt for putting him in that kind of position without warning.

But when Naruto glanced at Gaara, he couldn't read him at all. After a painfully long pause, Gaara smiled slightly.

"Whew…" Naruto sighed, keeping Gaara in his arms, not wanting to ever let him go, "You scared me for a minute there… And that wouldn't be the first time today," he added, laughing a little.

"Sorry…" Gaara muttered. There was another long pause, "You should probably go and rest before you leave in the morning." Gaara wasn't used to sleeping, and it was very apparent that he didn't plan on trying it anytime soon. He planned to make up all the work he missed while he was gone, starting as soon as Naruto and the others left for home. Naruto helped Gaara back to his feet, but as they began to walk back into the village, Gaara stopped him, grabbing Naruto's hands in his own. Naruto smiled; he liked being so close, and it was reassuring that Gaara seemed to like it as well. Gaara was finally getting more comfortable around him. They stood facing each other, just inches apart.

"I can't lose you either," Gaara murmured, feeling this amazing rush as he said it. He needed Naruto, and he knew that Naruto needed him too; there was someone in the world that truly cared about him. There were so many things he didn't know and was unsure of, but at this point, he didn't care anymore; everything just felt so right, and that was the only reassurance he needed.

…

The next day, Naruto had to leave with the others to head back to Konoha. Neither of them mentioned what happened the night before. With Naruto having to leave and the distance between them being so far, would be a while before they saw each other again. But they both knew that this was only _just the beginning_.


End file.
